The Missing Three-Quarter - Part One

For just £6 a month, binge ad-free adventures in full and have access to so much more over at patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and Co. Hello and welcome to the adventure of the missing three quarter. I hope you like doctors and football and doctors that like football. That's me. There just seems to be a fair bit of both in this adventure. There's actually tons and tons of me. Sorry about that. So take a seat and listen to your favourite podcast. It gives you a bloody good podcast. Check the episode description for any triggers and stuff. But it goes without saying that this contains swearing. It goes without saying and then you said it anyway John didn't you? I'll redo this intro later if I get the time. You say you have a buyer. Correct. A very interested buyer Mr. Holmes. They wish to purchase my sample. Why? Oh a drop of blood is a signature. An archive of every infection, every injury. A bond to your ancestors, to your parents, to your siblings. A speck of your blood, like rings in the trunk of a tree, shows me the scars of old fevers, fought through hushed wimpers to mummy at your bedside. We both seek truth homes. I just like to look below the surface and below yours. Oh I see many things. The resilience born out of every affliction. The fear. The determination. In every cell I see your brilliant mind. I have long looked at you through scoping glass. It was somewhat thrilling to finally meet the man himself. But for now at least we part ways. I will stave off my very interested buyer in your sample. For it was an honour Holmes to assist in your case to pull you through the murky cloud of plasma into the truth. My name is Dr. John Watson. Once of the British Army Northumberland Fusillier Regiment. Now a true crime podcast that based in central London. I don't have much experience in criminology. So this is mostly a record of how I met possibly the most brilliant and bizarre person I have ever and will ever know. Join me as I document the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Well what a potential moment we have here. You know it's a tempting position for any of these takers. I'm it up. 35 yards out. No mean feat. But on this stage, on this occasion ambitions will always run high. Gustavo stands over it. Hugo Alberto stands over it. Even the big man Louis Stelema is looking at it. As is that man right there, Godfrey. That's the one for me Peter. That's the horse I'd be backing in this one. Godfrey. Well it would seem the Brazilian head coach agrees with you Billy Richards. That's the first time for everything. And you can see Godfrey there ushering his teammates away, claiming it for himself. Yeah get away says this one's mine off you get. What is his trade in England of course on the elite stage. But Peter this is the stage. This is the stage you want to have. This is the stage you want to do it on. He certainly is. Godfrey surveys the task ahead of him. A task that would favour him as a left footer. But it would still have to be something special. This is Godfrey. Oh and that is special. That is special. A bullet of Brazilian brilliance. And listen to this place Billy. It's kind of out time Peter. What a strike of the ball that is. The keeper is never getting anywhere near it. Watch this. There he is right at the start of it. Back in it to Lema. And Hugo Alberto back off lads. This one's mine. And boy oh boy did he make it. Adulation there from his teammates that he shunned only moments ago for that shot to take that shot. Listen Peter I played with this lad Godfrey you forget. And he'd say to us all the time in these positions he'd say get out of here. This one's mine. I've got the one that I left for. You get yourselves in the box for my scraps get away. That's what he'd say to us Peter. I mean he did speak a weird of English at the time but he said it with his eyes. No of course. He said it with his body language. And he said it tonight in some style isn't he. If you didn't know it already Godfrey is a special talent. Not just on these native shores not just in England but now on the world stage. Where to now for this exceptional young man. The Brazilian was spotted at a training session here just yesterday. Footage here of him leaving in his car and that is the last moment he was seen. Very difficult and trouble and day not just for his family and friends but for this football club. Earlier head coach Nicky Overton spoke to the media. This is just crazy. I hope he's okay. He's one of the lads. We get on great. Everyone at this football club does with him. He's a real heartbeat. That dressing room a lot of the time. And listen we want him back. We want him safe. This is you know the end of the day. This is when you have to take stock. And appreciate football is just a game at the end of the day. And what has happened here with Goddy. We've Godfrey is a reminder of that. Life is more important. And our thoughts of me players. The back room staff. Everyone at this football club from top to bottom. Our thoughts go out to him to his family and to his friends. The league game schedule for this weekend is under review. Oh man. That's so sad. Yeah. He's so young. Is he good? Is he a good player? Oh yeah. He's great. He's great. Think of like a bit of Raquel May, Francesco Totti. Actually a bit quicker than that. Maybe. Oh you know what kind of a de Bruyne in the making smaller frame. John. In English please. Well I can give it in Spanish. Juan Matta. He kind of plays that he did. Oh OK. Kind of a trecatista. Three quarter. What? What? What's three quarters? You just said trecatista. That's Italian for three quarters. Oh is it? What did you think it meant? You can't just go around saying things in other languages. That's very reckless John. Yeah alright. It's not a live firearm. It's Italian. Then why did you say it? It's a sort of position in football. You know attacking mid creative role behind the centre forward sort of thing. I've watched plenty of football. That's not a position. Yeah no. But if you have an obsessive interest in it you will kind of find and analyse sort of sub positions within the positions. You know like a false nine, a six, a deep lying playmaker, ten, a false ten. Winger inverted wing, a boxed, a boxed midfield. OK OK I get it. I get it. Hmm. Ah. Il tre quartista con parso. The missing three quarter. Yep. Except he's Brazilian so. Oh you're going to throw around some Portuguese now? Well you see Portuguese is quite a complicated language you know and I just have to find the right combination of nouns. O meio da canta, desoprecido. Yep that's what I was going to say. Idiota. Ah there we go. I'm the point. You're the vodka ground breathing. Thanks. Did I leave my phone here? Yeah and you're getting a lot of messages. Cheers. Cheers. Wow lots of messages. What is it? Wow word must have got out that I'm single. Seriously? Just people, mates. What? Talking about the Godfrey thing? Well asking us to go figure it out. Wow. Well not all of them, one or two are pleased. What? Well you dived in the World Cup didn't you? You know what a penalty dinked it, did the shush. Oh so let's abduct him. Is that what you're saying? I'm not saying anything but bullfans are weird people mate. Yeah I've noticed. Oh I feel that. My phone is boiling this must be what it feels like to go viral. But do we really think it's like something serious? He's missing Mary. No no I know I know but that could be, he could have fallen out with his teammates. It could be a family emergency or something. Could be, yeah. You want to take this case so bad don't you? Yeah I do actually. Maybe I should go and bring it up with my lanky detective friend. You should. You absolutely should take it up with your lanky detective friend. I require a drink immediately. I have the most curious case that is developing right as I speak. It involves a remote country manor and a duchess who is betrothed to none other than Count von Unzug Raffenstein. The maternal uncle of von Bork. Ah right, great. Count von Grafenstein the maternal uncle of von Bork. Exactly. It's most intriguing Watson. Let's head back. Bring me my slippers, light my pipe and I shall beguile you with its narrative. Sake. Now this old flame of our manor dwelling duchess has sent a top secret message to his beloved and its rather singular contents would cause you to ejaculate an alarm. Ah Sherlock. What? Please don't say ejaculate. This is a sacred building. It's a pub. Exactly. I mean it in the sense of sudden unexpected surprise. Yes, yeah I was a teenage boy once. I know what you mean but this is a public place. OK. Now watch me drink this pint with no hands. Ah you're not watching. If I do this the next case is mine. Yeah? You're looking at me. Yes. What is it? Nothing. It's something. Can't I look at my friend. Geez. Forget it. Right well, Sherlock's I was actually thinking any interest in the Godfrey situation. Godfrey? The footballer. Godfrey what? No, that's his name. His name is Godfrey. He's Brazilian. Look at Godufredo Victor de Zouza Ribeiro. See, Godfrey. I don't think I'm interested. Anyway, the duchess stalking her manor grounds at night aching with lust for her Germanic count of yesteryear. I don't even know the details though. It's breaking news right this second. Matt, can you put the TV on? TV, yeah. See, it's every bit... ah, wait, sorry. Channel up Matt. He stepped into his car and hasn't been seen since. His wife and daughter are yet to comment but we did hear from his captain, Raphael Martin. We are thinking about him. We are thinking about his loved ones. He is in our heart and our prayers and I know how strong he is. The water, the focus is to his family and this team and I know he will be back with us soon. How exactly does this man know that he'll be back? I think he's just being optimistic mate. Is that wise? Well, the alternative would be just go on telly and say this doesn't look good, does it everyone? The man could have a myriad of reasons for his disappearance. Each reason more boring than the last. Um, like what? Lust, dissatisfaction, monetary issues. I mean he gets paid around £200,000 a week so... A week? Yes. Why? To play football. Is that it? Well he is in the top 0.001% of his field. So am I. Yeah but you can work for 40 years. He can only do this for about 10 or 12 years before his body gives up. Still seems excessive but a fine attempt Watson to convince me that such exorbitant remuneration is acceptable for such a profession. Ababa, excuse me, can we not take what is an hour? I just wanted to sip. Get off. Let me just... ...sake. Also, Guthrie has to hand over his image rights, commercial rights, promotional contributions, marketing and media contributions. Exactly, you know, he's exploited and he knows it so generally he needs to cash in now. Especially considering that most players are working class, usually not that educated, never ever have university degrees. He's from a favela too. Yep, the slums, right? Mm-hmm. It's amazing. And the injuries he could sustain could mean impairment at old age. The abuse too, you know, he's most likely distributing his money to his family back home in remittance and his agent would have taken a big chunk and he pays a lot of tax. Oh, oh, and also studies around consistent heading of the ball show that a footballer's lifespan is... That's alright, alright. So... What? Fancy it? No. Why not? Because it offers very little in the form of intrigue. How? It's a missing elite level footballer. Did you not listen to my tale, the country manor surrounded in mystique, the duchess, Count von Unzum Grafenstein? Yeah, it just sounds a bit...you know. I hope by you know you mean it sounds tantalising, exciting, luring. I don't quite understand what and how you failed to be aroused by its features. Right, that's the second warning, this sign for the word aroused, and no, I think it sounds a bit...elitist, innit? Opposed to the global media sensation and multi-billion pound sporting empire... Country manor, duchess and Count von Gronk, come on. It's Count von Grafenstein, his nephew is von Bork. Just doesn't tickle my fancy. Correction, your fancy is yet to be tickled. Yeah, it would appear so. So, allow me to be your fancy, tickler. Behold the note from the Count's younger brother, presumed dead. Yeah, sorry, what exactly does this say? It's Latin for... Oh, not Latin! Watson! Ah, Archie, can you not fart at me as you walk past, please? Like some sort of drive-by shooting. My mum's asking now if we're doing the Godfrey case. What do I do here? I mean, he did, like, basically do the last case all by himself. Share a look, he did it all by himself. No, he didn't. Yes, he did, John. He did a case all by himself? Yes. Oh, come on then, let's hear it, this'll be good. You listening, Arch? The Mazarin Stone. I... Oh, yeah. Yeah, but I was at a wedding, and so should he have been. Yeah, but he solved a whole entire case and turned up to the wedding anyway, so... Maybe he's right? Maybe he should get a choice? Maybe you want Godfrey? I want Godfrey, it's two against one, so you can't flip a coin, because that's not fair, right? We need a game that will take our majority into account. Ah, oh, ah, we should play Spin the Bottle, right? We all sit in a circle, spin the bottle, and if it lands on me... What? You kiss him? No. Well, you kiss Archie then, because you're not kissing me. No, if it lands on me or you, then we do the Godfrey case. You know grown-up people have found other ways to make decisions rather than spin the bottle. Yeah, but it's complicated, isn't it? We're colleagues, we're best friends, we're flatmates, we're majority owners of a disgusting bulldog. There's a lot in the mix there. If I go in all guns blazing and say this is the one, you know, the next case we're doing is this one, I risk undermining all those things. Yeah, maybe it's because I really want it rather than it being the actual next thing we should take on. Yeah. Then I think you've answered your question. Yeah. Yeah, I think maybe I have. Morning. Hiya, John. The case, it will involve time around the grounds of the Dutchess' estate as there have been rumors of an intruder. Right, okay. So we will be looking for footprints, disturbances in the soil and foliage. Right, yeah, yeah, so look, I'm at Goalhanging now and I'm going to pick up some waterproof stuff for Mike, the Mike, a little windsock for him type thing. Yes, very good. Be quick, the game is a foot. Yeah, or the game is a football, because we could also... Hello. Potlucks. Oh, hey. Oh, hey John. Producer Will? Producer Will, yeah. Good, good, actually you're the guy I need. Text stuff, is it? Text stuff, indeed. So, apparently I'm going to... Well, actually I don't know where I'm going, but I know it's outdoorsy. Grand Country Manor, is it? Ha, yep, the usual. Wish I could say otherwise. Yeah, anyway, I think for my Mike I just need a sort of... John, there you are. Oh, Gary. Gary Linnaker. What's the situation? The situation is I need a little windsock type thing for my Mike. Is that okay? Sorry, I didn't know you were so involved with the tech, to be honest. It's really impressive that you're so hands on with your company. I'm meant with Godfrey. What's the situation with Godfrey? The situation is a great turn of pace and a cracking left foot, mate. So, good to see you. Take it easy. John, the case. He's missing. This is serious. What's the next move? I... yeah, no. Godfrey, yeah. Tough one. It's just thoughts and prayers for now, I reckon. Thoughts and prayers? Yeah. Yeah, thoughts first, then that doesn't work. Break out a few prayers. Yeah, so anyway, better be shooting off. Are you not going to take on the case? Well, there's... you know, crime is... she's a complicated old gal. Is he not taking on the case? Oh my God, it's Alan Shearer. No, look, it's not that big, Al. He said it's complicated or something. Isn't it? Fuck. It is. Look, I'm part of a team. OK, I can't just make this call by myself. You guys know what it's like to sacrifice everything for the team, to put yourself second for the other... Alright, maybe you two in particular don't, but I'm a team player. OK, that's just who I am. I'm not going to change for Gary Linneker and Alan Shearer. Now, when you get to Godfrey's house, his wife Clara will be there. Yep. See what you can do to help. Yeah, yeah, sure, Gary. And the fiver side next week. Just don't fuck it up. Good one, Al. Anyway, do I need proper AstraTurf trainers? Because I don't actually... Hello? What do you want? Hi, Clara. Hello. I'm Dr. John Watson. Do you have news about my husband? I... No. I have some questions. Ask him. No, no, no, wait. Please, please, please. I'm just trying to help. I'm not pressed. Who sent you here? Gary Linneker. The former Everton, Leicester, Barcelona and Tottenham forward. And... Thingy. Grampus, eh? Hello? Clara? You're really a doctor. I am, yes. I'll answer your questions if you answer mine, OK? OK, yeah, perfect. It's a lovely home. Thank you. Indoor swimming pool, very nice. I'm in pain. Yeah, I can imagine. No. Well, yes, because of my husband, but my eye all around here, inside every part of my head. I have had a scan. A scan? Right. I have been getting very severe headaches behind my eye. Which eye? Left. My left. Mm-hmm. Since when? Maybe three weeks, four weeks. OK, and the scan found nothing? That's right. Any sinus issues? Hey, fever? No. Stress? I know that's a stupid question to ask when your husband's gone missing, but you said it's been happening for a month. He's only been missing a couple of days, sir. Stress? Yes. Much stress. OK, well, I will... Your husband, God-free, would he perhaps be the trigger for that stress? You don't have to say anything. You just nod. OK. It has been difficult. This past month? Yeah. Do you need to answer that? No, no, just a colleague. And that is impacting your health, is difficult behavior. So you tell me. It seems like stress to me, Clara. Thank you. This difficult behavior from your husband, is it unusual or is it a frequent occurrence? Does he have a bounce of problematic behavior? He does not. OK. And do we have any physical evidence to consider? In what way? Any financial activity? Not that I have seen. No changes in the health of his family? Friends? No. Remittance payments still going home as normal? Yes, completely normal. Right. Right. But he just seemed agitated. That's right. Agitated. Depressed. Vacant. And then he vanished? And then he vanished. I'm just... I'm in between meetings, is all, Mariana? Right. OK. Is that the Dutch's manor house or here? No. So I'm... It's for the Godfrey situation. I knew it. Goalhanger told you to do it and you gave it. No. Come off it. I'm like a sniffer dog, right? And I've caught the sense of... Linnaker God do you didn't, hey? Yeah. Yeah, he did. Big Al as well. Michael Richard and I exchange numbers. Well, you've made plenty of new friends there. I just hope you don't lose your old one. Mary, I went to see Godfrey's wife. OK. Tentatively and respectfully ask a few questions. Gary has set me up with Godfrey's agent. I will literally, again, just ask a few questions. I'll pass it all on to Gregson and then I will just walk away from the situation. A great assist, that's all. Then bang, I'm on my way to the Dutchess's big, stupid castle. Or whatever. It won't once I've played Fiverr's Sight on Tuesday because they need a sort of utility player, you know, and I've always been able to adapt to most positions. Hello? Is there something wrong with my phone or something? Hello, sir. Welcome to Mount James' associates. Do you have an appointment? Yeah, yeah, no, I do. Excellent. If you can just sign in on a tablet, then head to reception. Yep, cool, cool. Do I just do a photo? Great, pull a creepy face, John. Well done, mate. OK, gate is open. Hello, listeners. Keep this between us, but you join me in the next episode of Keep This Between Us, but you join me in central London at a... Well, it's a talent agency, essentially, and I tell you what, if I ran a massive sport and media agency, I would not occupy one of the swankiest buildings in town and have an interior that looks like some decadent throne room. It might show to your clients that you're taking 10% is maybe a little excessive. Oh, here we go. Hi there. Hello, I'm John Watson. I've got a meeting with Christopher Staunton. Watson, Watson. Ah, OK, yes, I can see you on the system. Just the lift here, and he's on the 14th floor. He'll meet you in the reception room as you come out of the lift, OK? Great, thank you. Currently walking to the lift. There is all glass right up to the top, very swish. I've got big, hanging kind of murals of household names sporting talent that you'd assume are their client. Now James associates lovely sports talent agency. Just trying to work out whether at this height and speed as I go up the building, whether I want to throw up or pass out. Both are tempting at this point. Christ, that is high. Oh, thank God for that. John Watson. Hi, Christopher. Chris, how are you doing? Thanks for coming all this way. We're just a bloody total loss, mate. Total loss. He'll turn up. Of course, of course he will. Do you want to come through here and we can grab a pod? A pod? Yeah, get ourselves one of these meeting pods. Shots out all the noise. Oh, OK, well, I do like a pod, so... Do you? No, well, I meant like podcast, because I'm a podcaster. Oh. Sherlock and Co. What's that? It's the... it's a podcast. Oh, OK. Any good? Yeah. Hmm, shall we? Yeah, right. They look cosy, these pods, don't they? They do the job. Yeah, we could have met in a phone booth outside. Here we go. Ronaldinho pod. Oh, they're named. Do we want Ronaldinho? Scored against England, didn't he? 2002, knocked us out. Well, uh, oh, Craig Bellamy's free. We could go in him. Oh, nah, you're all right. Oh, wow, yeah, that really... That shuts off all external noise. Fucking listen to me, mate! He's a private fucking doctor, right? And they're going to give you all of that bullshit, right? But that's all coming from the club. And if you can expose that, expose what they're doing... What they've done to him, we... You know, that's the only way that we can do this. Sorry, Chris, what are you talking about? He's fucking brainwashed him! They've brainwashed him with this personalized drug, pick-and-mix, and he's going to get himself in so much trouble. And if this... The league will crush him. The fans, the Brazilian FA, they'll come down on him like a... I mean, he will never recover from it, never. Is this why we're inside Ronaldinho so he wouldn't be hurt? This doesn't go anywhere. Do you understand? Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Chris, I'm having trouble... understanding what exactly this is. A few years ago, Godfrey meets this doctor. Armstrong. Leslie Armstrong. He's a specialist for elite athletes. Right. Not related to Lance, is he? Is he? We'd heard about his reputation, right? And a couple of the other clients, one Brazilian who knows Godfrey from the National Squad, the other, he plays with them currently, they come to meet and they say Godfrey is listening way too much to this guy, to Dr. Armstrong. Right. Armstrong is in his head, right? So I sort of, well, I send a signal to the club. I mean, they've got player liaisons, officers, junior care, all of this. And the club, well, they sort of thud me off, yeah? And say he's like, you know, he's a big boy. Plenty of the lads have routines and practices that go outside the scope of training, fitness, well-being and all of that. I mean, it's normal. And so anyway, a few weeks later, I've got a meeting with a sporting director down there about something. And I said, well, I messaged Godfrey and I said, I'll come see you at training. Well, because he'd had a knock and he was back after a month out, you know. And so I go down there, it is pissing it down. So instead, I'm indoors at the training centre and the, well, like the staff, the coaching staff, younger guys, they are putting the supplements for the players in their spots in the dressing room, right? Supplements. The club do these blood tests, fitness tests. They look into the player's sweat and emotional state and all of this. And they essentially, well, they make a bespoke cocktail of drugs, supplements, vitamins, right? To kind of to... To fill the gaps they have. That their body isn't naturally filling, exactly, yeah. And I go to Godfrey's spot and there's a note there. Right. It says, I took a pic, look. Lucas Godfredo, Victor de Souza-Ribero's supplement requirements are managed and administered by Dr Leslie Armstrong only. And sure enough, see that? A little container. Different container to the other lads. There's a totally different collection of drugs. Pills in that. Look, you see him? Oh, yeah, wow. Okay. As I'm looking at it, the lads come in. I absolutely should not be in there, to be honest, right? Well, but anyway, I know how to talk my way out of it, get chatting to a few of the boys, and then I think about making a move and I see Godfrey. And, well, I tell you, John, mate, he's... I swear, I saw holes in his arms. Like, from injections. Exactly. He's hardly looking at me in the eye. He's never been the most confident, right? Well, nothing wrong with that, but this is something else. Anyway, he goes into the shower and I just think, well, if the club aren't going to do it, I'm doing it. What did you do? I took it. The container of his tailor-made medication. I took it to get it tested. Chris, good for you, mate. That's well done, top work. Yeah. Yeah. So what were they? Chris, what were the drugs? I don't know. You don't know? Why not? Because he found out. Who? Dr. Armstrong? Yeah. How do you know? Because, uh, he sent me this. Oh, Christopher, naughty, naughty. What to do with this spirited little agent? I may have to have words with your superiors. Words can be administered, Mr. Staunton. Rather like a medicine, I find. Yes. Yes. With the right dosage, the right mix and application. I will exact an antidote to your poison. I will flush you out of the system until you are twitching, lifeless in the waist, like the parasitic worm you are. You are. Take what is mine again. I'll come for you, mad mad mad. What are you thinking? Well, um, I didn't think I'd say this, but I'm thinking the game might be afoot. What does that mean? It means, shit just got real. Take it easy, Chris. Watson's on the case. How do you, how do you open these pub doors? Come on. To binge this adventure in full and without ads, go to patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and Co.